Song of the South (song)

"Song of the South"
Single by Alabama
from the album Southern Star
Released	November 7, 1988
Recorded	January 1, 1988
Genre	Country
Length	3:12
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Bob McDill
Producer	Alabama Larry Michael Lee Josh Leo
Alabama singles chronology
"Fallin' Again" (1988) "Song of the South" (1988) "If I Had You" (1989)

"Song of the South" is the title a song written by Bob McDill. First recorded by American country music artist Bobby Bare on his 1980 album Drunk & Crazy, a version by Johnny Russell reached #57 on the U.S. Billboard country chart in 1981. Another cover by Tom T. Hall and Earl Scruggs peaked at #72 in 1982 from the album Storyteller and the Banjo Man. A cover released in November 1988 by American country music group Alabama, from their album Southern Star, reached #1 on both the U.S. and Canadian country charts.

Content

The song tells the story of a poor Southern cotton farm-family during the Great Depression. "Cotton on the roadside, cotton in the ditch. We all picked the cotton but we never got rich." "Well, somebody told us Wall Street fell, but we was so poor that we couldn't tell." The song references President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal in the line, "The cotton was short and the weeds was tall, but Mr. Roosevelt's gonna save us all." The father of the family is a Southern Democrat; "Daddy was a veteran, a southern democrat. They oughta get a rich man to vote like that." The family loses the farm after the mother becomes ill. "The county got the farm and they moved to town." In the end, the family ends up living comfortably well, having sought a life in a more urban location; "Well, papa got a job with the TVA, we bought a washing machine, and then a Chevrolet."

Music video

The music video, directed by Steve Boyle, consists mainly of black-and-white photos and footage of the South during the 1930s, as well as footage of members of the band and other actors in the South, which is also in black and white, to give the illusion that it was the 1930s when it was filmed. The content of the video mainly follows the song lyrics, such as the footage of President Roosevelt during the lines in the song where he is referenced. The video turns to color during the chorus, showing a large crowd fronted by the band members marching down the street of a small town. At the end, the video is also in color and shows Alabama playing at a concert, at the end of which random people come onto the stage.

Chart positions

Johnny Russell

Chart (1981)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	57

Tom T. Hall/Earl Scruggs

Chart (1982)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	72

Alabama

Chart (1988-1989)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
Canada RPM Country Tracks	1

References

• "Song of the South" at Allmusic

External links

Preceded by "What I'd Say" by Earl Thomas Conley

Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single February 11, 1989

Succeeded by "Big Wheels in the Moonlight" by Dan Seals